Z4M Coupe test drive - are they all like this?
Discussion
Morning all,
I test drove a Z4M Coupe from a main dealers last night and was rather surprised by the handling. To begin with it felt little soft; both the handling and steering.
More importantly I noticed that under acceleration at motorway speeds the front end went very light and 'floaty' and veered to the right as if caught in a cross wind.
I have been drive RWD cars for years so am aware about weight transfer under power etc. It just didn't feel right; I didn't feel like I was controlling the car. I've previously had a Z4 3.0 Coupe that to be honest felt much sharper and more honed than the car I drove last night.
A point to note is that the rear tyres were new Michelins and the fronts were Dunlops which had about 5mm of tread left. Would this be the reason for the handling? I know some cars are incredibly sensitive to mixed tyre set ups.
So my question is are all Z4MC's like this?
Cheers,
I test drove a Z4M Coupe from a main dealers last night and was rather surprised by the handling. To begin with it felt little soft; both the handling and steering.
More importantly I noticed that under acceleration at motorway speeds the front end went very light and 'floaty' and veered to the right as if caught in a cross wind.
I have been drive RWD cars for years so am aware about weight transfer under power etc. It just didn't feel right; I didn't feel like I was controlling the car. I've previously had a Z4 3.0 Coupe that to be honest felt much sharper and more honed than the car I drove last night.
A point to note is that the rear tyres were new Michelins and the fronts were Dunlops which had about 5mm of tread left. Would this be the reason for the handling? I know some cars are incredibly sensitive to mixed tyre set ups.
So my question is are all Z4MC's like this?
Cheers,
I'm afraid I cannot comment on Z4's, but my E46 is unbelievably sensitive to tyre type.
When I purchased it, it had Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front and Goodyear Eagle Assymetrics on the rear; the handling was all over the place and the car followed every damn rut in the road. I have since put Goodyear Assys on the front to match the rears, and all is well again. The diffence is profound!!
When I purchased it, it had Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front and Goodyear Eagle Assymetrics on the rear; the handling was all over the place and the car followed every damn rut in the road. I have since put Goodyear Assys on the front to match the rears, and all is well again. The diffence is profound!!
I had a Z4MR and also a 3.0L previously and that description sounds more like the 3.0L wearing runflats than a Z4M.
They are sensitive to tyre pressures so they could be running low (or over inflated if a dealership) or could have been pranged but would suggest testing a couple more to get a good feel for the car
They are sensitive to tyre pressures so they could be running low (or over inflated if a dealership) or could have been pranged but would suggest testing a couple more to get a good feel for the car
dasherdiablo1 said:
Morning all,
I test drove a Z4M Coupe from a main dealers last night and was rather surprised by the handling. To begin with it felt little soft; both the handling and steering.
More importantly I noticed that under acceleration at motorway speeds the front end went very light and 'floaty' and veered to the right as if caught in a cross wind.
The floaty and light under acceleration is normal in my experience, the veering to the right is notI test drove a Z4M Coupe from a main dealers last night and was rather surprised by the handling. To begin with it felt little soft; both the handling and steering.
More importantly I noticed that under acceleration at motorway speeds the front end went very light and 'floaty' and veered to the right as if caught in a cross wind.
flimper said:
The floaty and light under acceleration is normal in my experience,
Really??? This is rather worrying. A car like that should not do this; for a start it is front engined and should have plenty of weight over the front axle to maintain stability. As others have said maybe the rear springs have failed which I had overlooked.To be honest I'm not interested in this particular car as the dealer said he wouldn't budge on price which is ridiculous when the tyres and a session on a Hunter aligment machine in needed! I'm estimating just those alone would come to about £550.
I will try to drive some other cars but will also keep my options open with a Cayman S.
no normal
would never say i've felt the front feel floaty! that sounds worrying!
Have had:
18" conti m3s frt & rear
19" Falken 452s frt & Rear
19" flaken 452 frt & goodyear assyms rear
car feels planted, especially on the 19s
falkens on the rear can be slippy in the wet when worn
car doesnt like the 'truck tracks' in lane 1 of the motorway
custard
would never say i've felt the front feel floaty! that sounds worrying!
Have had:
18" conti m3s frt & rear
19" Falken 452s frt & Rear
19" flaken 452 frt & goodyear assyms rear
car feels planted, especially on the 19s
falkens on the rear can be slippy in the wet when worn
car doesnt like the 'truck tracks' in lane 1 of the motorway
custard
Did it veer to the right under hard acceleration? Or in general? Because i've read of several cases of Z4M's pulling to the left in general even after an alignment, mine does slightly as well and an alignment did not manage to fix it.
As for the floaty feeling, ive not experienced that but if i nail it from dead or from crawling speeds the front can feel a bit light which is normal. Not at motorway speeds though. Maybe that particular car had tire pressures all over the place or the mismatched tires had something to do with it.
As for the floaty feeling, ive not experienced that but if i nail it from dead or from crawling speeds the front can feel a bit light which is normal. Not at motorway speeds though. Maybe that particular car had tire pressures all over the place or the mismatched tires had something to do with it.
Main dealer selling a Z4MC with mismatched tyres... What a joke... If you give it death from standstill and redline it in 1st and 2nd, the front will feel light, but that is normal. Certainly not at motorway speeds... The car is very sensitive to alignment and tyre pressures due to the sharp steering rack.
HTH,
Alex
HTH,
Alex
So I'm observing about a Z4MR which we all know is the faster better version 
I've got 34k miles driving in it including having the cracked springs...(they are obvious!)
I'd characterise the light feeling as under hard acceleration the car squats back on rear - but my experience sounds very similar to others here - also on a couple of occasions on press on driving, people I've been with who've been following commented positively that the rear biased squat looks good and gave the impression of a car being given the beans.
I'd also say I've no experience of tyres other the Conti M3s and I check pressures every two weeks... keeping them a perhaps 0.25 bar above recommended. But mixed tyres ..deary me... wouldn't even do it on a shopping hatch.
Outside UK at say 130mph I have felt the front end noticebly lighter.
The other observation that many make is that it does take a good few miles to get to know and experience how the Ms drive.... people use the term scruff of the neck.
I've got 34k miles driving in it including having the cracked springs...(they are obvious!)
I'd characterise the light feeling as under hard acceleration the car squats back on rear - but my experience sounds very similar to others here - also on a couple of occasions on press on driving, people I've been with who've been following commented positively that the rear biased squat looks good and gave the impression of a car being given the beans.
I'd also say I've no experience of tyres other the Conti M3s and I check pressures every two weeks... keeping them a perhaps 0.25 bar above recommended. But mixed tyres ..deary me... wouldn't even do it on a shopping hatch.
Outside UK at say 130mph I have felt the front end noticebly lighter.
The other observation that many make is that it does take a good few miles to get to know and experience how the Ms drive.... people use the term scruff of the neck.
I drove my Z4MC for 40,000mls, both on 18" Michelin PS2, Conti 2 and on 19" PS2 with CSL rims. I never mix tyre brands, though. Car was 100% stock incl. alignment etc... Driving included all types of roads incl. very high speed runs on the German autobahn and a lot of track work.
The car never felt "soft" as you say and although I could feel some weight transfer under acceleration (and braking) the front never felt light in the sense of being "twitchy" or nervous (the back sometimes was nervous under extreme braking on track). The handling was sharper (and more track oriented) than the e92 M3 which I now own. Turn in was sharper, weight transfer under cornering was sharper, which has much to do with lower weight, lower COG and shorter wheelbase. BTW, both cars have an almost ideal 50-50 weight distribution and are not nose heavy.
I cannot guess the cause of what you describe, but it's not normal for an Z4MC and it should handle better and more stable by miles compared to a normal Z4 3.0. It's in another league and is in fact one of the best handling cars I've driven.
The car never felt "soft" as you say and although I could feel some weight transfer under acceleration (and braking) the front never felt light in the sense of being "twitchy" or nervous (the back sometimes was nervous under extreme braking on track). The handling was sharper (and more track oriented) than the e92 M3 which I now own. Turn in was sharper, weight transfer under cornering was sharper, which has much to do with lower weight, lower COG and shorter wheelbase. BTW, both cars have an almost ideal 50-50 weight distribution and are not nose heavy.
I cannot guess the cause of what you describe, but it's not normal for an Z4MC and it should handle better and more stable by miles compared to a normal Z4 3.0. It's in another league and is in fact one of the best handling cars I've driven.
Cheers all,
Having done some further investigation there appears to be a bit of a common theme that many of the Z4MC's do 'squat' when putting the power down resulting in a floating front end and possible understeer. Whilst this also used to happen on my Z3MC's it tended not to be to the same extent and in the end was rectified by replacing the rear suspension top mounts.
I'm guessing this may cause 'lift off' issues if the suspension allows the car to load transfer from front to back so easily. I'm also thinking it is a bit iffy in the wet?
I'll be honest and say that after yesterdays test drive I drove home in my 348TS and it felt so much tighter and the handling so much more precise - and that is on a car that is nearly 18yrs old! (and yes I do appreciate I only spent 20mins in the coupe whereas I am familiar with my own car)
I'm definitely going to do a back to back with a Cayman S to see which I will get more enjoyment out of. The Z4MC has the straight line pace, a reasonable sound track and definitely a more individual look, but the lure of the handling, awesome braking and slightly oddball looks appeals for the Cayman S.
Having done some further investigation there appears to be a bit of a common theme that many of the Z4MC's do 'squat' when putting the power down resulting in a floating front end and possible understeer. Whilst this also used to happen on my Z3MC's it tended not to be to the same extent and in the end was rectified by replacing the rear suspension top mounts.
I'm guessing this may cause 'lift off' issues if the suspension allows the car to load transfer from front to back so easily. I'm also thinking it is a bit iffy in the wet?
I'll be honest and say that after yesterdays test drive I drove home in my 348TS and it felt so much tighter and the handling so much more precise - and that is on a car that is nearly 18yrs old! (and yes I do appreciate I only spent 20mins in the coupe whereas I am familiar with my own car)
I'm definitely going to do a back to back with a Cayman S to see which I will get more enjoyment out of. The Z4MC has the straight line pace, a reasonable sound track and definitely a more individual look, but the lure of the handling, awesome braking and slightly oddball looks appeals for the Cayman S.
Never felt front end go light on mine. Suspension is hard and tightly sprung. On one occasion when giving it full beans I hut a large bump/rut in a B road and for a second thought it was going to bounce me off the bleedin road!!! Luckily the suspension did it's job and I got traction quickly. TBH I was accelerating far to fast for that type of road.
Putting the foot down on these things is frightenly quick. You dont realize how fast you are going.
Putting the foot down on these things is frightenly quick. You dont realize how fast you are going.
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